This week in Hong Kong:

• The government announced its budget for 2021-22

• The city launches its city-wide vaccine program

• Previously-arrested pro-democracy figures have been called back to police

Continue reading for the full rundown, upcoming events, and uncover the history of siu mai.

– Jasmine Lee

The Big Picture

The Budget for 2021-22 contains fewer sweeteners than last year, with a $5,000 electronic voucher that will be given out for use at eligible vendors, instead of the $10,000 cash handouts that were in last year’s budget. $8 billion will be used for national security in Hong Kong and police will receive up to three times more in additional funding for equipment, as well as an increase in budget for salaries.

The Budget: Highlights & More

Hong Kong officially launched its COVID-19 Vaccination Program to the public. The opening 70,000 spots were snatched up on the first-day bookings were available, filling up the first two weeks of vaccinations. 200,000 more spots will be available to snatch up for vaccines from 1-26 March. The restrictions for public gatherings have been relaxed from two to four people and indoor dining in the evening has resumed. The delivery of a million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has been delayed for undeclared reasons.

District councillors will be included on the list of employees required to pledge allegiance to the SAR, and those who violate their oath could face an election ban of five years.

A group of people who were part of the 50 pro-democracy figures arrested last month under national security charges have been asked to report to police on Sunday, for what some are expecting is to hand out official charges against them. Ventus Lau, Lester Shum, and Jeffrey Andrews are amongst those summoned by the police.

Register for CanCham's first networking event of the year or for a webinar with the Canadian Ambassador to China in March.

Lighten the mood

Pork Siumai Dumplings by Alpha (CC BY-SA 2.0) / Flickr Creative Commons.

• Police were tracking down an elderly man who was seen riding his wheelchair down Ching Cheung Road, a three-lane highway.

• Did you ever want to learn about the history of one of the classic dim sum staples? You can learn about siu mai's Mongolian roots and how it came to be a Hong Kong favourite in this article.

• In wackier news, US border patrol confiscated 44 pounds of cocaine-coated cornflakes in Ohio that were making their way to a private residence in HK.